Rhys Hoskins exercising his option would be a disaster for the Brewers and here’s why

When the Milwaukee Brewers signed Rhys Hoskins this past offseason, it seemed that they had finally landed that reliable, power-hitting first baseman that's been missing from their team as of late.

The days of Prince Fielder, Eric Thames or even Chris Carter are long in the rearview mirror. Hoskins came to Milwaukee with a reputation of being one of the most powerful first basemen in the league when he's healthy. He missed the entirety of last year with an injury that lowered his value right into Brewers territory and they struck.

The Brewers gave Hoskins a two-year deal that came with an opt-out after the first season and then a mutual option for the 2026 campaign. Now that the Crew's season has come to an unnecessarily early end, the "Hoskins opt-out decision" is going to be one of the top storylines of the early-offseason in Milwaukee.

Rhys Hoskins seems to have made up his mind on opt-out

In a recent article from Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Hoskins was quoted and what he had to say sure makes it sound like his mind is already made up for 2025.

“It’s the type of group you want to be a part of,” Hoskins said. “There’s a ton of talent here. Surprised everybody this year. I don’t think we’ll be a surprise next year. We’ve got a lot to get through first and foremost, obviously the disappointment. I said this right when I signed, I said this throughout the year: the most important thing is being on a winner. This is absolutely a winning team.”

Judging from that quote alone, it sounds like Hoskins is leaning towards a reunion for the 2025 season. Since he had easily the worst full year of his career, it's not that difficult to see why he'd choose to return on a guaranteed $18M contract.

In 131 games this year, the seven-year veteran hit 26 home runs with 82 RBI, but he also managed just a .214 batting average and .722 OPS. Both of those marks are well below his career norms, and his 98 OPS+ not only puts him two percent below league-average, but it's also 13 percent below his second-worst career output.

Why Hoskins picking up his option is bad for the Brewers

It's not too hard to see why Hoskins returning for another year is a bad thing for the Brewers. Other than the first two months of the 2024 regular season where he posted an OPS north of .800, he was at .779 or lower in every other month of the year. He also didn't hit righties or lefties particularly well.

From first-half to second-half, Hoskins was at a .723 OPS and then .720 OPS. He didn't make any substantial improvements as the season went on and it's unreasonable to think he'll suddenly "rediscover his form" come 2025.

Then there's the financial aspect of this all. We already know that the Brewers aren't exactly rolling around in money. They never have been and may never be. So carrying $18M in a player that isn't even going to give you league-average production is going to be much more painful for a team like the Brewers to hold on to than the likes of the Yankees or Dodgers.

Hoskins' complete lack of flexibility is also going to be a burden. The Brewers always have and always will love their positional versatility on defense. The lumbering first baseman can fake it at first on a good day, but he's primarily a DH and isn't a competent defender at any other position. Having to give him every day at-bats is ultimately going to eat into playing time that would be better served to a young player with more potential that isn't on the wrong side of 30.

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